Smuggler guide

[shallowthought]

Trying to play as smuggler, not too sure what the best strategy is.

The smuggler's special ability is to generate records when selling restricted goods, and he starts with points in negotiate. But the buy/sell price difference in these goods is too big to make a profit outside surplus/shortage rumours, so where am I meant to get them from? Currently I'm basically playing as an explorer, getting restricted goods from exploring wild zones. The other option is from looting ships, but that requires a totally different skillset.

Should I go for contracts or stick with exploring? Should the smuggler have additional starting bonuses? (I think yes, possibly a discount buying restricted goods, discount buying trade permit, or, if the smuggler is meant to do contracts, give him the smuggler's hold ship upgrade as a special skill)

Thoughts?

[starfixer]

Smugglers should do exploring when they aren't making money off of surplus/shortage rumors. Erchants should do harvesting whenthey aren't making money off of shortage/surplus rumors. Thei cache is also 3x as protected as normal. You could technicly make money buying and selling even no by shortage/surplus. You could hit the picture of any cargo (artifact weapon) and get prices for every planet that you visited and went to the extange. As a smuggler, id do contracs for some factions only to get permits with them for pirate prtection and to buy/sell ilegal goods. Id get a scout for exploring, and a political to warn of embargoes so you don't kill your rep with a faction. Id get pilot to run away from hostilities, and get some spice to help your pilol with his pilot bonus and the political with her negociate. Smugglers primary way for profit is shortag/surplus, and the second way is exploring. Invest in explorer skill for exploring, negociate for trading and making the buy/sell price closer together. When smugglers trade, they primarily buy/sell restricted goods. However, they can buy and sell non-restricted goods as well if near a shortage/surplus rumor.

Metal and weapon shortage pay the most.

[Cory Trese]

I need to keep working on the information provided in the game to make it easier to see and utilize the trade routes.

Rumors are certainly the fastest way to make money as a Merchant but my play definitely includes a lot of base-rate trading of resources between mining camps, capitals and outposts.

[phantombudgie]

Aug 19, 2012 12:51:25 GMT -5 Cory Trese said:

I need to keep working on the information provided in the game to make it easier to see and utilize the trade routes.

Yes please! I would really like to be able to play in this style. Currently I cannot be a character that is "within the law"(i.e. no banned status or really negative rep) unless I play explorer.

[Cory Trese]

Aug 19, 2012 12:57:07 GMT -5 phantombudgie said:

Aug 19, 2012 12:51:25 GMT -5 Cory Trese said:

I need to keep working on the information provided in the game to make it easier to see and utilize the trade routes.

Yes please! I would really like to be able to play in this style. Currently I cannot be a character that is "within the law"(i.e. no banned status or really negative rep) unless I play explorer.

It is an uneasy peace, Syndicates and Houses despise each other and that means that for a Captain to live "within the law" they must pick a Law to follow.

The universe is one of Conflict -- commercial, military and spy -- and no Captain should seek to make peace with all parties

However, I still feel that the pure trader profession is playable just need to share more information via the UI.

[shallowthought]

See, what you've said there describes a merchant or explorer. (And arguably the merchant shouldn't harvest or explore, see the help guide for an explanation why.) My feelings are that a smuggler should focus on delivery contracts (passengers, packages or messages), but his ability - records for restricted goods - implies otherwise, and starting with negotiate implies he should be playing using a merchant's style. However, given the difference between buy/sell prices for restricted goods, it's pretty much impossible to make a profit on them if you're buying them. I left one planet with a surplus in electronics because I wouldn't be able to sell them for a profit anywhere, even though they were significantly cheaper to buy than normal.

Edit: regarding trade routes, I have managed to make a pretty good profit at base rates with a merchant character, but it's pretty boring spending all your time checking the prices. Any chance of adding sort by buy/sell price buttons? I think this may have been suggested before.

[starfixer]

A MO Zealo BH AND spy must pick one law to follow, syndicate or clan. Merchant Smuggler and Explorer however can and should not be wanted by any facton. If possible, they shuld actually get permits with most/all factions, and get political to warn of embargoes. As a trade-based charecter, its hard t lose rep once a permit is obtained as you're only trading (via buy/sell and explore/harvest). You'd have to break an embargo which the PO will warn you about so you don't, or sell records during spy battles. Also, if you do piss off a faction, buy pardns before reaching rep -10 or lower.

Merchant actions
Primary - sell/buy shortage and surplus non-banned goods. Metal shortage pays most.
Secondary - Harvest
Tricery - sell/buy non-banned goods in nearby worlds (don't travel 25AU to buy/sell something unles there's a surplus/shortage) Buy pardons if your rep is -6 or lower with any faction.
You should get permit with as many factions as posible and avoid pissing off factions. PRIMARY SKILLS Negociate, Explorer (for harvest), Stealth, Pilot

Smuggler actions
Primary - Buy/sell shortage and surplus banned goods. Weapon shortage pays great money.
Secondary - Buy/Sell shortage and surplus non-banned goods nearby. Metal shortage pays great money.
Tricery - Explore. Buy pardons if your rep is -6 or lower with any faction
You should get permit with as many factions as posible and avoid pissing off factions. PRIMARY SKILLS - Negociate, Explorer, Stealth, Pilot

Explorer actions
Primary - Explore (Especially dark age technology rumors)
Secondary - Buy/Sell shortage and surplus banned-goods
Permits with as many factions as posible and avoid pissing off factions. PRIMARY
SKILLS - Explorer, Intimidate, Stealth, Pilot

Although not combat-based profesions, you should alwayes have some Warrior and Tactics Skills in case of combat. For smugglers and explorers espcially, carrying some weapons isn't a bad idea either.

[Cory Trese]

Aug 19, 2012 13:56:23 GMT -5 shallowthought said:

Any chance of adding sort by buy/sell price buttons? I think this may have been suggested before.

Not sure what you mean by that. In your mind what are "buy/sell price buttons" ?

[shallowthought]

When you click on the cargo item picture it gives you a list of buy/sell prices in the exchanges you've visited, sorted in no particular order. Add two buttons to sort the list by buy price and sell price which would save you having to read the whole list.

[starfixer]

An explorer could play as a smuggler, smuggler as an explorer, merchant as a smuggler. But they all have unique abilitis to help them sepcialize incertain areas. For suplus rumors, you CAN stash them in a wild/rural planet (where there's a high rating of cache safety) and sell them with a shortage rumor of the same hold type nearby. E.g. there's an electronics surplus. You can buy electronics from th surplus and sell them in a good faction urban planet or cache the electronics in a rural/wild planet. When there's an electronics shotage near the place you cached the electronics, you can go to that planet, pick up the caches electronics and sell them in the planet with the electrnics shortage.

Lastly, merchants and smugglers should have ships with ship upgrades that give them big holds. As a smuggler/explorer, weapons cabinet and spybank is good as it gives you more room when buying/obtaining via explore weapons and electronics.

You won't make money trading banned goods unless its shortage/surplus or by exploring. For non-banned goods, you can make a small amount buying/seling in nearby worlds for no shortages/surpluses but its hard.

[grävling]

I'm actually more interested in 'if I sell this now, what would be my profit/loss', except,
that, well I'm not really. All I do is stick things in caches and wait for shortages. But if it is possible to play a Trader game where you make enough money with 'regular prices',
something I haven't come even close to at all, well then, at that point I would be interested in this information.

Personally, I think that Smugglers should get twice as many rumours about surplus and shortage as the other classes, or something along those lines. Aside from smuggling goods
that are prohibited across the Galaxy, I think that some of the shortages we see have got
to be artificially caused for profiteering purposes by corrupt planetary government officials and corporate executives. So shipping goods there seems akin to smuggling to me.

[shallowthought]

You can make money in star traders buying and selling at normal prices, you just have to put points into negotiate. Try playing as a merchant, once you have enough cash to fill your hold you can make a few 10s of k per trade.

[starfixer]

Aug 19, 2012 14:42:45 GMT -5 grävling said:

I'm actually more interested in 'if I sell this now, what would be my profit/loss', except,
that, well I'm not really. All I do is stick things in caches and wait for shortages. But if it is possible to play a Trader game where you make enough money with 'regular prices',
something I haven't come even close to at all, well then, at that point I would be interested in this information.

Personally, I think that Smugglers should get twice as many rumours about surplus and shortage as the other classes, or something along those lines. Aside from smuggling goods
that are prohibited across the Galaxy, I think that some of the shortages we see have got
to be artificially caused for profiteering purposes by corrupt planetary government officials and corporate executives. So shipping goods there seems akin to smuggling to me.

Realisticly speaking, no one can affact shortage/surpluses and when they occur.

[grävling]

Aug 19, 2012 14:48:23 GMT -5 starfixer said:

Aug 19, 2012 14:42:45 GMT -5 grävling said:

I'm actually more interested in 'if I sell this now, what would be my profit/loss', except,
that, well I'm not really. All I do is stick things in caches and wait for shortages. But if it is possible to play a Trader game where you make enough money with 'regular prices',
something I haven't come even close to at all, well then, at that point I would be interested in this information.

Personally, I think that Smugglers should get twice as many rumours about surplus and shortage as the other classes, or something along those lines. Aside from smuggling goods
that are prohibited across the Galaxy, I think that some of the shortages we see have got
to be artificially caused for profiteering purposes by corrupt planetary government officials and corporate executives. So shipping goods there seems akin to smuggling to me.

Realisticly speaking, no one can affact shortage/surpluses and when they occur.

I'm not trying to make more shortages, just hear more rumours. Or ... do you think we are hearing about 'all the shortages there are' in the game? I assumed that there were plenty more in the game, that I just don't hear about, based on the fact that sometimes when I land on a planet I find there is a shortage/suplus happening that I never heard about through channels. I thought that Smugglers could have more efficient channels for finding out such things.

[starfixer]

I would want an upgrade or officer that increases the rumors heard, and good rumors. How about this.

Covert Listening System - provides storage and organization for bugs to be placed at spice halls as well as a self-recording system so the ship can record everything that the bugs pick up and re-play it for the captain once aboard the ship. Provides a major rumor bonus at spice halls that increases with Spy Officer on board.